Driving rains and near freezing temperatures didn't dampen the spirits of the nearly 2,000 who turned out for Boston's 8th annual Gay Straight Youth Pride Celebration May 18 at the Hatch Shell.

Though the weather forced organizers to cancel the march preceding the rally, hundreds marched to the Hatch Shell anyway after being re-routed from Copley Square, carrying large rainbow flags and yelling ``Two, Four, Six, Eight, Don't Assume Your Kids Are Straight!" to onlookers locked in traffic.

After the hordes descended on the Hatch Shell, rainbow flags increasingly served as makeshift blankets and many of the mostly high-school-age crowd sought shelter under vendor tents erected halfway back on the green.

Tammy Faye Bakker Messner, the 1970s televangelist-turned-gay advice columnist, both delighted and baffled teen spectators with her reaffirming if preach-heavy address that resulted in comments like ``Who's this Tammy Faye?"

Bakker Messner first addressed the lopsided suicide rate among gay teens and said she recently lost a 19-year-old relative to suicide: ``We found him in the barn. And he may have been one of you. We don't know; he didn't leave a note." She said her heart was broken when she learned the high statistics of suicide among gay teens. ``Not everyone is going to like you," she told the mobs of gay youth. ``But always be yourself. Be an original. God loves you just the way you are."

She made references to her own hurdles and moving beyond the time in her life when she and her wandering mascara were weekly fodder for ``Saturday Night Live" skits, and the like. In addition she said, ``I've had two husbands that went to prison, but I made it, and so did they. Remember: Tough times don't last. But tough people do." Bakker Messner continued making references to the Bible and self-love before attempting a participatory ``You've Got the Whole World In Your Hands" sing-a-long.

Watching in bewilderment, Adam Lawrence, 19, of Somerset called her appearance ``interesting, not quite what I expected and a little preachy."

Mia, a 16-year-old Newton North High School student who asked that her last name not be used, was thrilled to be there despite the weather. ``Nothing could keep gay youth from being here today," she said. Asked how she thought Youth Pride differs from the Gay Pride events in June, she said, ``I think a lot of youth are intimidated by the adult Gay Pride."

Openly gay New York Times best-selling author Christopher Rice -- son of prolific ``Vampire" author Anne Rice -- indulged himself in the crowd's whoops and hollers, laughing and smiling and saying he was ``blown away" by what Massachusetts has done for gay youth.

When MTV's ``Real World" cast members were announced, the tents emptied and hundreds stormed the stage in hopes for close-up glimpses of their favorite cast members. Later, dozens swarmed the back entrance of the Hatch Shell for autographs and photo ops with several of them.

Still screaming and jumping after scoring ``Real World" cast member Ruthie's signature, Christina Grinnell, 15, of Greenfield who was there with her mom, said, ``I just came out two months ago. This is amazing and overwhelming, and I just found out Melissa Ferrick [the surprise musical guest] is playing and I love her!"

The Youth Pride event is critical, said Charlie Connors of the Massachusetts Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth because, ``There will always be a kid someplace who thinks he's all alone. And even if he or she can't participate in the event, hopefully they'll see it on TV or hear about it." It's important, he added, that adults give them the support that so many of them wished they had at their age.

Commission chair Vin McCarthy agreed, saying, ``These kids are the future of our movement."

Corey Johnson, the Bay State high school football captain who made national headlines two years ago after coming out to his team, was on hand to introduce Rep. Liz Malia, D-Jamaica Plain. Malia said Youth Pride is necessary in order to ``complete the movement and bring it into its maturity."

Several colleges and university representatives from around the country were also on hand in an attempt to recruit gay students and diversify student population. As schools increasingly answer queries from prospective students about gay life on campus more of them are reaching out to this growing population.

John Downey, a student at Amherst College, was staffing a table of literature about the school. When he heard about the opportunity to come to Boston's Youth Pride, he approached the admissions office and they were all for it, he said. ``Amherst has historically supported diversity of all kinds. As a member of Pride Alliance (the on-campus gay group), we're trying to bring in students to help support and further our community."

Bayliss Camp, a Stanford University alumni volunteer, agreed saying, ``I think this is a wonderful opportunity to be able to provide college information to gay students."

After the event, ``Real World" Boston cast member Genesis revealed to Bay Windows that the Hatch Shell event was her first gay pride event of any kind. An out lesbian, she was moved, she said, by the number of teens who approached her and told her she was a role model for them. ``I think that when you're a teenager life is so much more confusing anyway." And when you're struggling with sexual identity, she said, ``It's even more important to have a role model. I guess them seeing me going through my own confusion [on the program] made them came up to me afterward and say that I made a huge impression on them. I was just so flattered."

Beth Berlo is a staff writer at Bay Windows. Her e-mail address is bberlo@aol.com.

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